Holt, Mills, Cox fired - Seattle Times
The University of Washington has indeed made a major shakeup on its defensive coaching staff, announcing this morning that coordinator Nick Holt, linebackers coach Mike Cox and safeties coach have all been fired.

Matt Barkley helps put USC, as a university, in a new light - LA Times [Dwyre]
...little did anybody know that a college junior with good grades, a rifle for a throwing arm and a pot of gold beckoning him would stand up in Heritage Hall and, in a two-minute speech, do more than almost anybody or anything else in recent time to validate what USC wants to be and has become. Now, high school freshman football players who wanted to be Mark Sanchez want to be Matt Barkley first. Every university professor who despises the amount of money and energy used on football at the expense of his or her program despises football a tad less. It is easy to imagine college presidents around the country, upon viewing a snippet of Barkley on the evening news, sitting down in a big easy chair, lighting a pipe and muttering: "Thank God."...

Trojans team to beat in 2012 - OC Register
A few moments after 1 p.m. Thursday, USC became the team to beat for the 2012 BCS national championship.Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley’s decision on Tuesday to return to USC for his senior season guaranteed that the road to next year’s national title game in South Florida will start at 3911 South Figueroa Street. Barkley’s return is the final piece to Trojan formula that has all the ingredients for a run at another national title, scholarship reductions and all...

USC v. UCLA - LA Daily News
Is Norm Chow going to try and steal a UCLA commitment? Here is what tailback Steven Lakalaka told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. ``I would give it a thought. I'm still committed, but open-minded with my family," Lakalaka said. "I guess it does make a difference because he's a great coach.''...